Thursday, April 21, 2011

dutch bicycle ambulances in malawi and bikes not bombs from boston

in my never ending quest of getting to 999 unread items in my google reader (joking...), i came across a video today i thought i bookmarked. guess i didn't because i couldn't find it again. grrrrrz.

in trying to recreate the search later at home to no avail, i came across these videos instead. first is about bicycle ambulances in malawi and the second is about bikes not bombs sending bikes from boston to africa.

In Malawi there is a shortage of ambulances and many roads are in a bad condition. As a consequence, many pregnant women and their children die because they do not arrive in time at the hospital.

Dutch trader Peter Meyer came up with a solution: the bicycle ambulance. 3 years ago he started Sakaramenta, which now employs 14 people. The Dutchman and his team sell over 60 bikes per month to hospitals and NGOs.

In Africa, a bicycle can make all the difference. Riding a bike is four times faster than walking, the only choice for millions of Africans. People with bikes get to schools, markets, farms and health care in one-fourth the time, improving their lives and economic futures. The VBP program supplies bikes, spare parts, tools and training in basic bike maintenance. The program empowers whole communities by including women and girls in bicycle education. These components work together to nurture the use of bikes. Improved mobility is a key to reducing poverty. In Africa, a bicycle can take a person from poverty to prosperity.

Made in 2006 as a short companion to the film Ayamye*. Co-directed & co-produced by Tricia Todd, edited by Austin Meredith.

@ade: that would be so awesome. but i bet we could find a tall person here that would need baby. or donate her to somewhere like pedal revolution, but maybe we can do a collab with them on who ends up w/ the bike? they have a blog. hmmmm.

@appleadayproject: yah, it was pretty cool to see both sides of the equation.